Repurposed farm equipment factory, Newcastle
Some buildings are built so well that they reincarnate more than once, which is not always the case in North America where builders tend to tear down structures to construct new ones.
In 1849, two years after an Ontario farmer named Massey began making labour-saving ploughs and agricultural tools in his farm workshop, he moved his business a mile or so north to the town of Newcastle. The wheat market was expanding and Massey recognized an opportunity.
Sadly the original foundry burned down in 1864, but Massey quickly built a replacement on the same land. The photo above is of that building.
Massey, his sons and later his grandsons were astute businessmen, promoting their machinery across North America and Europe. When the Massey harvester won the grand prize at the 1896 Paris National Exhibition, the company began exporting their products worldwide. In 1953, the company merged with another company to become Massey Ferguson. (I bet all you farmers have heard of that name!)
J. Anderson Smith
By 1879, the company had moved to Toronto. But in 1910 J. Anderson Smith bought the abandoned building and turned it into a factory for making containers for ammunition, which later morphed into a factory for making jewellery boxes.
The Massey Building has morphed again! The ground floor has been renovated for commercial use and there are apartments on the second and third floor.
Added later in answer to Pamela's question: the company's first name change was to Massey-Harris, then Massey-Harris-Ferguson and later shortened to Massey Ferguson. :)
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